Hello and welcome to our OER on Coding in Education!
Before engaging with our OER, please complete our Pre Knowledge Survey.
Access our OER, reading through the sections and completing embedded activities along the way.
When you are finished, complete our Post Knowledge Survey and address 1-2 of the following discussion prompts below (on WordPress):
Would you invest in a particular coding tool? Will you include new coding activities or tools in your professional context?
Has your assessment of coding’s value as a skill for today’s learners changed through completing this OER? Why or why not?
What questions do you still have about coding as a learning opportunity?
What questions do you still have about coding education as an investment opportunity?
Star and a wish: What worked well for you during this OER experience and why? What could be improved upon and how?
Activities (Summary):
- Complete Pre Knowledge Survey
- Read through OER sections
- Complete at least two of the four Coding Theories activities
- Reflect on the two Padlets (in Coding Theories and Coding Toolkit sections respectively)
- Complete our Post Knowledge Survey
- Answer 1-2 discussion questions in response to this post
Good luck and happy coding!
Emily, Emma, and Justine
Thank you ladies for a highly engaging and enriching OER. As someone whose knowledge and experience of coding is extremely humble I thank you for helping me simply understand coding theories and seeing why coding skills are such essential skills for the future. I enjoyed all of your games. They were indeed a very effective way of helping to understand coding theories. To answer discussion questions, I aspire to find creative ways of incorporating coding skills and theories into my English language and literature classroom. I will definitely try the cryptographic coding theory! I would invest in coding tools as it is an area with a lot of opportunities to benefit from and gaps to improve upon and fill. Tynker seems like a company I would be interested to invest in since it is for kids. Additionally, it has good revenues and valuation. As coding skills have become a necessity for the future, this market as has been shown has a promising future and is not just a phase, therefore an investment in it sounds like a pretty good idea.
Hi Safaa,
Thank you for the great feedback!!
Cryptographic coding and cryptoquote activities are a great idea for an English class! Thank you so much for your investment interest in tynker and your participation and engagement with all the activities!!
Hi Emily, Emma, and Justine, you all did a great job on your OER! I really enjoyed the coding theory activities. My major thought relates to how coding can relate to the curricular competencies for younger students. As much as it is encouraged for educators to teach programming and coding at a young age, it is a bit daunting not knowing exactly what aspects should be considered most important. My view has always been to provide students at a young age the opportunity to explore coding at their own pace. As much as we can try to teach them specifics relating to coding, they are able to learn a lot more through gamified coding applications. I guess my view ties in with the Steve Jobs quote used in the OER – “I think everybody in this country should learn a computer language because it teaches you how to think”. Through gamified coding apps, students can learn how to “think” like a coder so that they can be taught it in more detail during Upper Elementary and High School.
Hi Joseph, you make an excellent point!
So in your view, would educators act as facilitators for these coding opportunities? That’s a great suggestion!
What about outside of elementary and high school? I’m curious on how educators and trainers of adult learners should facilitate these opportunities as well.
I absolutely agree that gamified coding apps provide great opportunities for students to learn. I had a great time learning about how many gamified coding tools are available!
Hi Emma,
Exactly! In my view we would act as facilitators for these coding opportunities and be there to answer questions relating to the usage of the app. Many applications are built with tutorials in place to help guide students through the steps of coding, so a teacher doing the same thing could be counterproductive in two ways. The first way would be that the educator would lose time that they may need to plan other subjects or work for their class which would impact other areas of the curriculum. Secondly, if an educator gives an incorrect instruction or says something a different way than the application communicates, the students would become confused and struggle until they figured out their teacher was wrong.
Outside of the immediate education world, I think facilitators could still use this “hands-off” approach on an app-by-app basis. If the application can do a good job teaching the user, then the facilitator would be there just to assist with in-depth questions. Personally, I would be a lot more willing and confident to try a coding application if I knew there was someone easily accessible who could assist if I needed help. That would be the roll of the facilitator in this setting.
Thanks for expanding and elaborating upon your idea. I really like your vision, and I can definitely see the opportunity in the facilitator role. And coincides with the other Classrooms of the Future OER from last week too!
So much fun! Thank you Emily, Emma, and Justine for an OER jam-packed with great info and super engaging activities. It was helpful to include an introduction of coding theories, and a look at some of the programs that are being widely used. Everything worked well for me, so thanks for that (: I find it particularly interesting to think of coding as a way to prepare learners for 21st century, as working with computers/coding/design is so crucial to many industries and also helps to create a new generation of media literate global citizens, and also as a place to learn the problem solving, communication, and computational thinking skills outlined in the infographic on your “about” page. Like Joseph above, I’m curious how coding can be integrated into curriculum so that it supports a diversity of learning objectives. Looking back at my time in high school (circa 2000), we had a computer lab to complete basic internet searches on and sometimes write essays… but using a computer wasn’t integrated into the curriculum the way it is now, where we use them for nearly all subjects in a variety of capacities. My question is around if and how things will evolve over the coming decades to integrate coding into subjects like natural sciences, arts, and language studies. This is where you mention professional development as the pathway to opening up coding to different areas, which I think is a great suggestion. Though I think some educators may be slow to catch-on, because it can be pretty daunting to learn a new language, I can absolutely see how in a decade or two it will be common to see coding across classrooms and disciplines.
Hi Kendall, thank you so much for your great feedback!! Your question about evolving coding languages is a great point, from the Coding Histories page, you can see the many MANY coding languages that exists and how they have evolved. What to teach in classrooms may evolve as well, but it may not be about being fluent in 1 language, but giving students the tools to be able to read or understand many. Coding languages are always changing, but the theories behind coding and the overarching science are still valuable, despite what current coding languages are popular. Thanks so much for your question and your feedback!!
The coding revolution was a fun journey throughout the possibilities and hands-on codification. I spent plenty of time playing and solving activities. I changed my expectations and mindset about how codes surround us and should be explored more in Education. Understanding a language machine can teach us about math, logic, behaviors, and much more.
The way this OER was presented easily aided me in accepting and comprehending alternatives to insert coding and dig deeper into the algorithms used daily to make decisions for Education and Health fields.
Thank you!
Thanks so much Alexei!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Hello Emily, Emma, and Justine,
Thank you for getting me into the coding mindset. After going through your production, I went a bit further looking for tutorial online on coding. I have no doubt in my mind that coding will play a major role in public schools. In fact, a former colleague of mine is right now teaching coding to middle schoolers reprogramming lego robots.
For someone like myself who is the area of second language acquisition (French immersion), I am wondering what are your thoughts on the role coding will play in a language classroom.
Thank you!
Hi Seime, thank you for your feedback! You pose a great question in considering coding’s role in language classrooms. In an immersion program, I think it would be effective to try a coding platform like Scratch in French – if you go to their site https://scratch.mit.edu/ and scroll all the way to the bottom you can have the site and activities translated to a variety of languages, including French. I think the engaging nature of the platform would be motivating for students to work in and practice their core vocabulary. I think it would be interesting for students who become more proficient in coding to combine their knowledge of multiple languages and programming skills to create language learning games. Duolingo comes to mind as an example, I think even most high school students would need to start with something much more simple than that, but it would be an interesting way to apply their skills to help others learn.
Hi Emily,
You made a great point in your response. Teaching subjects such as science, math, social studies in French are strategies that we use in the program to get the students to think and critically analyze in French so they can internalize the second language; a strategy that is at the art of the immersion program. Working at a high technological level in French like coding has the potential to enrich their vocabulary but also to help them use their thought process in the target language.
Thank you for suggesting the site “scratch”, I will definitely explore it.
Also, the great thing about coding is that computer language is a whole new language on it’s own, and students, no matter the language they speak, can pick up the basic of coding quite quickly through play. Another great one is Osmo. This costs a little bit more, but language is not a barrier and you are using symbols to move the character and complete levels! We are so glad you enjoyed our OER!
Hi Emily, Emma, and Justine, thank you for the amazing OER. I found it to be super interactive and it made the learning very fun! Doing the activities in the OER reminded me of the importance of using analogue activities such as the decoding activity and the error control activity to teach computer science concepts. Sometimes, I dive right into teaching programming that I forget to emphasis the importance of knowing how the computer or the program does what it does. I think coding is a great way for our students to practice 21st century skills. Creative thinking and critical thinking are especially exercised by thinking logically and breaking down a big task or problem into smaller doable chunks when coding. One question I have is with so many coding education platforms on the market doing similar things, how can a platform differentiate themselves from the other ones already on the market? Thank you!
Hi Jerry, thanks for your feedback! We had fun learning about the analogue end of things for this project as well. In our research we identified gaps in the areas of professional development, engagement, application, underrepresentation, and accessibility. So I think that coding platforms that include learning for educators about how to teach it, that are clearly applicable to creating engaging activities, contributing to society, bridging the gap to “real” coding, and that are inclusive and accessible to underrepresented groups (e.g. women and people who are Indigenous) all have an edge.
I definitely think the logic associated with coding, what’s possible with coding and knowing how to code is valuable for an education of the present and future. At the same time, I’m also curious about the validity of nocode. Nocode development platforms allow people to create what they want without needing to know a programming language. I definitely think there is opportunity in building startups that support the nocode landscape.
Hi Leon, thanks for your response! I haven’t heard the term nocode before and took a Google around. This is really interesting! I started looking at Bubble https://bubble.io/, a nocode platform with a free option. In a lot of ways I think that some of the coding for education platforms are similar to nocode – someone else has done the actual coding, and the user can take those components, drop them into a project, and customize using plain language to program. I’ve always considered coding for ed as a pathway moving toward “real” coding to create marketable products and job opportunities. I love this idea that it doesn’t necessarily need to be this way, and that the program can learn to code for us rather than us learning to code. Have you ever tried any nocode platforms out?
Great OER Emily, Emma, and Justine! You did the engagement and interativity elements really well and I like the pre and post surveys for situating my learning.
I was reflecting while engaging with my peers on our experiences in the Coding Toolkit Padlet about my experience using Gamemaker in ETEC 544. Previous to this, I was completely onboard with coding in education, but had more of a simplistic idea of how that would look. In reflecting on this, I realize just how much coding can be considered a jumping off point for a lot of growth in critical thinking and logic. So many of the tools you proposed in your OER offer a fun way for learners to practice these critical skills. I see it as a great opportunity for multidisciplinary learning.
Thank you Sage! I had never actually heard of Gamemaker, but we were hoping that the Toolkit would bring together a variety of coding resources from all of our classmates. I am excited to take a deeper give into the app. We also started out our research with the same idea – we had a more simplistic idea about coding in education. However, through research, we learned about all of the different avenues one can go with coding, and the variety of resources and information out there. It can be used in our professional contexts, whether working with a 5 year old or 50! I think that’s pretty amazing!
Hi Emily, Emma and Justine,
Thank you for sharing that engaging and interactive OER. Prior to going through the OER, my confidence with coding was limited to a few lessons in my Kindergarten program with more hands-on tools like the coding mouse and the code-a-pillar. I would begin with some offline coding activities and found there were great connections to literacy and sequencing. I quite enjoyed the activities that accompanied each of the coding theories and the toolkit of coding resources that can be used in the classroom. It was mentioned that coding is entering main stream education and I couldn’t help but notice/ was more aware of the number of coding tutors/ outside programs that existed in my neighbourhood- Code Ninjas and Code Academy to name a few. It speaks volumes to how valuable of an educational tool coding is and also to who has access to it (with the additional costs for those programs).
Thank you so much for your feedback! I wonder if we live in the same area, because I have seen Code Ninjas and Code Academy open up new locations near my house as well. Coding is such a great source of learning for our little learners. Kids loves video games, just as we did when we were younger, and now they get the opportunity to learn how a video game works, and they can even make their own if they want! The possibilities are endless. It feels like a game to them, but there’s so much learning going on, such as problem solving!
Hello coding team! And thank you for a very engaging OER. I have to say that your variety of games as well as your wonderful chiptune music was a really nice touch to make this an interesting experience for me. I have many friends in my life who are into coding, computer repair, and the technical side of things when it comes to PCS and video games. Having participated in your OER really makes me appreciate the critical thinking skills that my friends have. Again, at the language educator, I struggle to find the connection between coding and what I teaching class; however as an educator I recognize the ability of coding to teach critical thinking, which is important.
Hi Emily, Emma and Justine!
Thanks for the awesome OER! I really enjoyed learning more about coding as in my role as a VP I am out of the classroom and not as up to speed on these types of applications as I would like to be. I really liked working on the different opportunities with my kids and watching them problem solve.
1. Has your assessment of coding’s value as a skill for today’s learners changed through completing this OER? Why or why not? I don’t think my assessment of the value of this skill has changed, but it’s my idea around how accessible these skills are for students that has. When I hear the word coding, I immediately get the picture of some person sitting in the dark
manipulating The Matrix for their own benefit. What you’ve shown is that coding can be done and understood by almost anyone and really should be another “language” requirement as there is no way that computers will disappear anytime soon!
2. What questions do you still have about coding as a learning opportunity? As an administrator, I would really like to know infrastructure costs. How well will these programs run on the technology that our school has? Will these products be compatible with our BYOD program and all the diverse tech platforms that ensues? Will the platforms be support for the long term or will this be a “passing fancy” where we will have to invest again to keep up with evolving programs?
Thanks again for the awesome OER!
Hi Greg, thanks for your response. I agree that costs and compatibility with infrastructure can both be barriers to implementation. I know that Scratch, for example, is free to use, can even be used without a login (though a free account login is required to save), and there is a version for web browsers as well as iOs and Android apps. They also have a companion app (Scratch Jr) for littles. So that might be a good platform to check out initially if not already in use at your school!
Has your assessment of coding’s value as a skill for today’s learners changed through completing this OER? Why or why not?
Through reviewing your OER I have realized the broad scale of coding programs that are available to students in a way that I didn’t before. It has also opened my eyes to the possibility of incorporating coding into the curriculum in a more cross-curricular way. One of the challenges of teaching ADST in BC is just finding enough consistent time in the week to make it worth it for my students. By planning unit that incorporate coding in a more natural way in their other subject areas it could increase their understanding of the applicability of coding while giving them more time in the week to practice those skills.
Hi Katie, thanks for your response. I agree, it can be so hard to try to get meaningful ADST learning developed with such a small amount of time allocated to the topic each week. I think now with coding platforms becoming more accessible in terms of free options and tutorials available there is so much potential to use them across the curriculum – I love the idea of coding a game with different characters from a book read in class, or to reinforce Math or Science concepts, and there are lots of great ideas posted on sites like Hour of Code and Scratch to use as a starting point for planning.
Hello Emily, Emma and Justine! Thank you for putting together a very thoughtful and engaging OER. The question I have chose to answer is the following: “What worked well for you during this OER experience and why? What could be improved upon and how?” For me, this OER was pretty much an introduction to coding. Before starting the OER I recognized the importance of it, but I was never able to picture what is coding in my head. After completing the OER I realized how coding is very useful and important for our current and future generations to come. What worked well for me in the OER was that everything was written with great detail and was straightforward. I was able to grasp and understand the different kinds of coding that you presented. Another aspect of the OER which was the icing on the cake for me were the activities. I got to learn different kinds of coding and the activities helped me understand the different kinds of coding even further. The interactive part of the OER (Padlets) was also excellent, because I got the opportunity to read and further learn from my classmates experiences and from your responses. I can’t point out something specific that can be improved upon because I found this OER very enlightening, and engaging. This is a topic in which I barely had any knowledge on. I went in with an open mind, and then came out of it proud because I learned something completely new and beneficial today, and I accomplished the activities which at first I found really challenging.
Thanks for the very engaging OER. To answer your question: What worked well? The various interactive elements throughout your presentation. What could be improved upon and how? One area of coding that could have been touched upon is the role of coding in the classroom using robotics. I have integrated various robots in my K-7 coding units as I find that it promotes collaboration and engagement while making learning less sedentary. I can see cost being a potential barrier to introducing coding robots to classrooms, however there can be creative ways to allocate funds to ensure students have opportunities to apply their knowledge of code in a more hands-on way. Would I invest in a particular coding tool? No, I feel that coding is now becoming so readily available and is no longer a niche market. With that, I feel that offering students a variety of opportunities to code is what keeps them interested in coding and therefore do not think one particular coding tool would be something I personally see as a solid investment.